Shadowy Beginnings
by Ruthie of the Wildcats
Summary: [OneShot]How did Scar meet up with his three hyena cohorts? How did Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed join forces with the usuper? Explained at last!


"I say you go for food!" came an angry, echoing bark from the crevice.

"An' I say _you_ go for food!" a second voice retorted.

The third voice did not so much say anything. It whimpered, a sound that seemed to be the only sound the owner of the voice was capable of. The other two voices whirled on the third. Soon the canyon was a tangle of angry yelps, snarls, and scuffling noises. Cold moonlight shone down, revealing the three figures.

They were hyena pups, barely old enough to be weaned. Their shadows were blown out of proportion in the low light, making the threesome seem like massive, leggy beasts. In reality, they were scrawny and little. The largest two were locking in an angry battle, their front paws braced together.

"I say _you_ go for food!" the smaller, a female, repeated.

"An' I say _you_ do it!" the larger, a male replied. "One of us has gotta go get food, an' it ain't gonna be me! I'm hungrier than the both-a ya!"

The third pup made a grumbling noise in his throat, something unrecognizable as a word of any kind. He got up and padded off into the darkness. The two others stopped fighting. "Where're ya goin'?" the female asked.

The runt pup turned his head and blew a raspberry at his two siblings, saliva spewing from his dirty brown tongue. The female leaned away from the unwanted wetness. She scampered forward to reason with him. "Hey, come on, we gotta stick together," she barked. "You can't go walkin' off without us! We're family."

"Yeah, come back," the male added. "Ever since Mom died, there hasn't been any food. If we're gonna survive, we gotta stay with each other. It's all or none, bro."

The voiceless male sat down and scratched behind a mangy ear. His sister licked his brow gently. "C'mon, let's go," she murmured. "We gotta leave the den if we're gonna find food. It's just us three now. We can do this."

Together, the trio of hyena orphans set out. The female seemed to be the bossiest of the group, making her the unofficial leader. The bigger male constantly challenged her for dominance, but neither would submit. The third, the runt, just tagged along with the other two of his litter, knowing that his survival lay in their paws. It wasn't long (only a mile or so) before they ran out of what little energy they had left, and stopped to rest.

"Go for food," the female ordered.

"You go for food," the male muttered.

In unison, they turned to their younger brother. "Go for food," they ordered. The runt stuck out his tongue and barked wordlessly before padding away. When he was out of sight, the other two began to fight again.

"'s all your fault," the male growled, his voice soft with hunger. "If we hadn't left the canyon, someone from Mom's pack would have found us!"

"Yeah, well who didn't try to stop me?" the female retorted tiredly. "You, that's who... Well, it's not like the little guy's gonna make it back." She sighed. "I wish we hadn't sent him off like that."

"Yeah." The male groaned hungrily and rolled over onto his back. He snuggled up beside his sister, insofar as prickly-pelted hyenas could snuggle. They heaved a sigh in unison and gazed up at the lightening sky.

;-:-;-:-;

Off on his own, the runt had a better sense of direction than his other siblings did. He was the runt, and his entrance to the world had been difficult. As a result, he could not speak in words or even control how much spittle dripped from his open mouth. In short, he was retarded. But there was something different about him. While he had been robbed of speech and control of bodily functions, he possessed a superior set of instincts and senses.

The runt pup padded along, nose to the ground. He snorted and lifted his head. There was food somewhere around here. Yes. It was close by, too. A wave of triumph crashed down over his body. He would survive! The runt opened his mouth to alert his siblings that there was food to be found, but instead of his hoarse bark, a new sound bubbled out. He forced out the air in a different way, and was rewarded with a chuckle.

Surprised, and somewhat proud of himself, the runt tried his new sound out, louder than before. His chuckle changed to a giggle, then a belly laugh, and finally, a shrill, maniacal cackle. He had found the laughter, the hyena's trademark noise. Laughing and snickering, he bounded across the plains. He threw his head back and shrieked with laughter. Yes! He could speak! And he was making a sound his littermates had never heard before. They would be jealous...and try to steal his new gift. But somehow the runt knew that they would not be able to take this away from him.

He skidded to a halt outside a large cave. The tempting smell of meat wafted around him, coming from the shadowy den. Hypnotized by the odor of food, the pup stepped closer and closer into the cave, drooling literal puddles on the ground. Just as he prepared to take the offering left at the mouth of the cave, a hefty weight landed on his back. The runt's laughing changed to fearful screaming.

"A hyena? Shame...I was hoping for a cheetah," something above him rumbled. The runt turned his head.

Sitting atop him was a young, dark lion with traces of a mane around his neck. Across the lion's eye ran a fresh wound, one that was still oozing blood. The lion licked his paw and drew it over his ear. "You know, I'm not going to eat you."

"Beh-hoo?" the runt chuckled nervously. The lion regarded him disdainfully.

"If you must know, I wanted someone to bring up to do my bidding," the lion continued. "You know, a sort of yes-creature. I was hoping for a cheetah. They're rather sharp, and one of them has just had her cubs. Although, they'd be a pain to raise...after all, I can't suckle them."

The runt cocked his head to the side. How could this bleeding cat understand him? None of the other pups could. Somehow, this lion had known exactly what he had meant with his guttural laugh. "Heh?"

"What?" The lion leaned closer.

"Hoo-ooh, heh-heh-hoo."

"Two others? And you're all eating meat?" The lion stepped off of the runt's back. "Well, you'll have to introduce me to them. What's your name, hyena?"

"Deh-heh-heh-he-eh-eh-d."

"I'll shorten that one to Ed," the lion murmured. He tore off a chunk of meat for Ed, the hyena runt. "Eat as much as you can. Then, we'll travel back to your brother and sister, and they can have some."

Ed devoured the meat eagerly, ripping it to shreds and shoving it down his mouth as fast as he could. When he was full, he sat up. The lion crouched down in the dust. "Climb on my back, Ed," he commanded. "Let's find the others."

Ed, perched on the top of his lion friend's head, pointed the way with a chuckle and a paw. The lion followed his every command, his eyes glinting eagerly.

;-:-;-:-;

"It's hopeless," the female muttered after seemingly hours of waiting. "Something's gotten 'im by now. Looks like it's just us two. Well, at least we're goin' down together."

The male sat bolt upright, sniffing furiously. "Maybe not, sis," he barked. "I'm smellin' the kid. An' he smells happy."

The female leapt to her paws. She, too, scented the air. Just as she opened her mouth, the runt appeared from between stalks of grass. The two others tackled him. Then they noticed that his jaws were covered in blood, and his belly was bloated. The warm scent of fresh meat came from between his jaws. His eyes were glassy with contentment. The starving hyenas turned on their fed brother.

"You found food an' you didn't come back and tell us?" the female shouted.

"Let's rip 'im open an' grab the food from 'is traitor belly!" the male snarled.

"Let's not be rash now," came the rumbling voice of the lion. He stepped out behind Ed, standing over the pup protectively. "There's plenty of meat for all of you, if you agree to one thing."

The female stood still, gazing up at him curiously. "What's this 'one thing'?" she asked. "An' why're ya bleedin' like that?"

Her brother stood beside her, also staring. "Do you really have food?" he queried hopefully.

"I do," the lion assured them. "And as for the 'one thing'...well, as you can see, I've been wounded. By my own family. I was cast from the pride by my own brother...I need your help in getting my revenge."

The male pushed his sister aside. "I'm in," he barked. The lion nodded.

"Your brother has informed me that you have no names. I have already called him Ed." He studied the bulky male cub. "I will call you Banzai, because you jumped right in and accepted my offer."

The female shoved Banzai in revenge. "What about me?" she demanded. "I mean, I'll go along with ya, but I want a name too!"

"I shall call you Shenzi."

"Why?" Shenzi asked.

"Because I like the sound of the name," the lion replied. "Why, do you not like it?"

"No, no, I like it," Shenzi assured him quickly. "It's a good name. Got a nice sound to it, too. Shenzi." She crouched down low to the ground. "Shenzi!" She stood proud, her head back. "Shenzi..."

Banzai studied the lion carefully. "You got a name?"

"My name was take from me. Please, call me Scar."

Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed all stared at each other. They repeated the name slowly, in a soft, hissing voice. Well, the first two did. Ed sort of giggled it. "Scar..."


End file.
